


i would wait a million more years

by big_zs_d_stan



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Character Death, Day At The Beach, Fate, Homophobia, M/M, Unrequited Love, Whales
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 04:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19881277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/big_zs_d_stan/pseuds/big_zs_d_stan
Summary: Auston wants to confess his love. Instead, he has the worst day of his life.





	i would wait a million more years

**Author's Note:**

> fuck whoever reported "i would wait a million years"  
> here you can't report this you little bitch  
> i'd love to see you try  
> (don't actually try though)

May 13th, 2022

“Mitch, get over here already! There’s something I need to tell you.” Auston yelps from across the shore. They’re taking the day off at the beach, a much needed rest after their third consecutive game 7 elimination.

He watches Mitchell from a few yards away. The older boy looks busy, entrenched in the fine white sand. He pats at it wildly, trying to form some type of shape. The sand, however, refuses to bend to his will. It covers him from head to toe, and Auston can only sigh as he thinks about how messy the car is going to be, and how he’ll have to drive to the carwash later after and vacuum it all out.

But for now, he doesn’t really care much at all. There’s much more important things to consider, more important than a little bit of sand that can easily be wiped away. A dark cloud looms over him at every moment, a cloud that condensed this morning when he woke up, when he had to face the reality that the Leafs were really knocked out from the playoffs yet again.

It was a close game by all accounts, but in the end it was a game winning goal by Danton Heinen of all people that sealed their defeat. As captain, Auston wished there was something he could’ve done, but it was as if his luck had run dry that night. He did everything Babs told him to, yet the puck seemed to run away from him at every unfortunate moment. Just the very thought of it made his eyes dampen-

“What is it?” Mitch smiles up at him, the putrid smell interrupting his thoughts. He really ought to teach Mitch how to use a toothbrush, but that’s a conversation for another day, he thinks.

Auston looks down at his feet sheepishly, thinking of the right words to say. He’s never been good at this stuff. “I was thinking that, maybe, um-”

“Go on.”

“God, if you would just let me finish my sentence,” Auston snaps at him, his hands placed firmly of his hips. Mitch can be so frustrating at times, but that’s just another thing he loves about him. He’s always got that fire inside him, that desperation to win. It’s enviable. Definitely something he could’ve used last night.

The moment Auston can collect his thoughts once again, there’s a deafening boom in the sky, followed by a crack. It’s louder than a Kadri headshot, more jarring. Before either of them know it, the ground is shaking violently, bringing them to their feet. Auston’s not a religious man, but for a moment he believes it’s the wrath of Steve Dangle coming to get him.

“I thought Toronto didn’t lay on any fault lines.” Mitch barely musters next to him, his hands digging into the sand. Out of fear, or impulse maybe, Auston reaches over and laces their hands together. It doesn’t take much time for Mitch to pull his hand away, his face twisted up in disgust.

Auston’s heart sinks, barely being able to mouth “Sorry,” before looking away.

In an instant, all shaking stops, replaced by an incredible stillness. The sand returns to its place, the clouds disappear, and oddest of all, the water is motionless. Something about it all seems of a dream, like if Auston told someone what happened no one would believe him, but it was all astonishingly real.

Beside him, Mitch is propped up on his elbows, gazing out onto the unmoving sea before him. His eyes look as if they’ve witnessed some earth-shattering miracle, yet his mind is absolutely barren, as it usually is. Auston could look at him forever, and if everything in life went his way, he would. Sadly, he knows life is not so kind.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Mitch comments, sitting up slowly. The wind rushes through his hair.

Auston can only nod, all words escaping him.

“Listen, I’m sorry I grabbed your hand like that. I don’t know, I was just scared. Not often we get earthquakes, y'know?” Auston pipes up after a long period of silence. He should have known better than to think a teammate would share his feelings, especially after going through this five separate times during college.

“It’s alright, I was scared too,” Mitch says coolly. “I just thought you were going gay on me there for a second is all.” He laughs lightly, looking up at the sky for a moment.

Auston almost winces at the comment. It’s feels like all the weight of the world has been placed on him; he feels himself sinking into the sand, wanting to burrow and hide like a crab. He should have known better. He should have known better. Everything he does seems like an endless circle of torture, from falling for unnatainable teammates to losing for the Leafs every single year. He’s a tragic hero in the play of his life, never being able to run from his fate no matter how hard he tries.

“What? No way, man. I totally love pussy.” Auston jokes along, keeping his line of sight directly at the ground, refusing to make eye contact.

This garners a chuckle out of Mitch, and though he’s just gotten his heart broken again, Auston can’t help but smile back. He can be his friend. In fact, he’s very comfortable being just friends. He’s the lead role in the musical of being Just Friends.

“Hey, we should get going. I can already feel my back starting to burn.” Mitch stands up, a million particles of sand flying off of him. It’s true, his skin is starting to resemble that of a shrimp.

Auston joins him in standing, pulling out his phone to check the time and maybe take a photo or two. “Let me just snap a pic for the ‘gram real quick and we can get outta here.”

He centers his camera perfectly to the sky, looking for the perfect composition. It takes but a moment for him to find the right scene: the blinding sun being eclipsed by a small, duck-shaped cloud. It’s maybe a little too cute for the ‘gram, but it’s a nice memento to remember instead of thinking about what turned out to be a pretty bad day.

Something else appears in the frame, though. Some small black speck which he first mistakes as a smudge on his screen, but with every passing second his finger hovers over the camera button, gets increasingly larger.

“Yo, Mitch. I think something’s falling from the sky.” He looks around for Mitch, but he’s wandered off to the edge of the water. 

The mysterious object is much larger now, ridiculously large, and appears to be set on landing directly atop Mitch if he doesn’t get out of its way.

“MITCH! MITCH MOVE!” Auston is now screaming, but Mitch doesn’t notice it. Oh my god, he’s got airpods in. He can only barely hear Auston, but it’s not loud enough.

With a loud crunch, the object lands on Mitch, crushing him and killing him instantly. There’s a large powdery explosion of sand upon impact; it falls like summer snow, masking the view of this object from Auston. Eventually the sand settles and all is revealed. A whale has landed on Mitch. A whale from the sky.

Auston can’t believe his eyes. “No, no, no, no, no.” He chokes out, collapsing onto the beach in tears. Mitch is dead and it’s all his fault, all sky whale’s fault. He should’ve pushed him out of the way, he should’ve done something, and now it’s all too late. “This can’t be happening, this can’t be…”

Sky whale stares at Auston with empty eyes. Sky whale shows no remorse for its actions. In a final act of defiance, sky whale opens its mouth, a bundle of fabric falling out onto the sand in front of him. Auston quickly takes the bundle into his arms, it’s slimy and warm. Unravelling the fabric, he’s shocked for the second time. It’s a Bruins jersey - complete with Auston’s number, name, and a ‘C’ on the front.

“You have been chosen.” Sky whale speaks, wisdom apparent in the cetacean’s voice.

Before Auston has time to reply, the sky whale rolls back into the ocean, as fleeting as a wave and the one sure to follow.

**Author's Note:**

> :3c


End file.
